After the Divorce, My Ex-Husband Granted My Wish

: Just a Servant

The year my boyfriend was at his poorest, I left him for a $50,000 marriage settlement.

Later, at a class reunion, he, now rich and famous, married me with an exorbitant marriage settlement.

Everyone said Aiden Dalton was madly in love with me.

But he treated me like a gift and sent me to his business rival's bed.

I didn't cry or make a scene. I accepted it quietly.

He flew into a rage, his eyes bloodshot. "Elara Rhodes, do you really not care who you sleep with?"

I don't care.

...

Five years after I broke up with Aiden Dalton, we met again at a class reunion.

I was a down-on-my-luck escort, while he was an accomplished business tycoon.

They all said Aiden Dalton was madly in love with me.

He married me as soon as he returned to the country, paying an exorbitant marriage settlement.

He made me Mrs. Dalton, the envy of our entire social circle.

But on our wedding night, he brought an exquisite, beautiful woman into our bridal suite.

I recognized her.

She was my former best friend, Chloe Shaw.

Aiden Dalton doted on her, granting her every wish.

For the two years we've been married, Aiden Dalton has brought her home almost every night to sleep in our marital bed.

He grabbed my chin, his voice a warning. "Elara Rhodes, I didn't spend all that money on you just so you could enjoy the life of Mrs. Dalton. You'd better remember this: from the day we married, you are nothing more than a servant in this house."

He broke my heart and turned me into a joke for the whole world to see.

Everyone knew I was just the servant Aiden Dalton had brought home to be his wife.

My best friend urged me to divorce him, worried about how I was being treated.

I just shook my head. This was my debt to him.

Besides, Aiden Dalton and I had signed a marriage contract.

Only if he initiates the divorce can I avoid having to return the marriage settlement.

I holed up in my room, quietly planning how I would use the money.

A few days ago, I went to the hospital for a check-up. The doctor told me I only have about three months left to live.

And that's only if I cooperate with the treatment and take my medication.

If I don't, I'll only have just over a month left.

I nodded slightly.

'It's fine. I'm not afraid of pain, and I'm not afraid of death.'

'But I am afraid of bitterness, and I'm afraid of taking medicine.'

'My life has already been so bitter. For the month or so I have left, I want a little sweetness.'

After I got back from the hospital that day, I received some news.

There had been a new development in my father's case.

If I could find someone to help, he might be able to clear his name and be released early.

But my family had fallen on hard times long ago, and we'd lost touch with all our old family friends.

The only person with the power to help my father now was Aiden Dalton.

No matter what, I had to save my father.

I went to the kitchen, cooked Aiden Dalton's favorite dishes, and brought them in a lunchbox to his company.

The people around me started whispering and pointing.

"She's dressed so terribly, and her face is as pale as a ghost. How could someone like *her* marry President Dalton? She must have used some kind of trick, don't you think?"

"I heard she's President Dalton's first love, but she betrayed him for a $50,000 marriage settlement back when he had nothing. But he never forgot her, so he married her the moment he came back to the country."

"Poor President Dalton. If you ask me, only Secretary Shaw is a good match for him. I mean, Secretary Shaw is the wealthy young miss of the Shaw Group..."

I subconsciously touched my face.

'They're right. I'm dying.'

I waited at the entrance for ages, only to learn that Aiden Dalton wasn't even in the office.

He and Chloe Shaw had gone out. I heard they were at a gathering with some friends.

After finding out where they were, I took the food I'd made for Aiden Dalton and went to their private room.

The room was crowded and lively, filled mostly with Aiden Dalton's friends.

The moment I walked in, the boisterous room fell silent.

Chloe Shaw walked up to me with a smile on her face. "Elara Rhodes, what are you doing here? Don't tell me you got bored at home and decided you wanted to come back to work?"

"But we didn't order any escorts. You must have the wrong room, right?"

"Honestly, Aiden... I've told him so many times to pay more attention to you, to be more considerate. He even smiled and promised he would. I can't believe he was just lying to me. You're Mrs. Dalton now, and he's still making you come out here to work and be treated this way..."

"This won't do. I'm going to have a serious talk with him..."

Her playful, pouting act looked just like me at eighteen.

Back then, I was the apple of my parents' eye and the center of Aiden Dalton's world.

'Aiden Dalton must really love her,' I thought.

'If it weren't for me, he and Chloe Shaw probably would have gotten together long ago.'

When we were dating, Aiden Dalton was always very good to Chloe Shaw.

Whenever he bought me bubble tea, he'd always remember to get one for Chloe Shaw, too.

When we went to the movies, he would ask if Chloe Shaw was coming with us.

I even got jealous and threw tantrums over it.

Back then, he would always hold me tight and kiss my face, stubbornly saying, "It's because she's your friend and you two are so close. I'm just trying to stay on her good side so she doesn't make things difficult for me."

I looked at Chloe Shaw calmly and smiled. "Since you have so much influence over him, why don't you persuade your dear Aiden to divorce me sooner? That way, you won't have to keep being his shameful little mistress."

"Go on, convince him. Convince him to divorce me quickly, and then I can give the title of Mrs. Dalton to you."

"Then you won't have to sneak around as a mistress anymore. You can stand in the open, rightfully, as Mrs. Dalton."